Historical Centre Kornelimünster

The history of Kornelimünster goes back to the time around the birth of Christ. This is where the Romans crossed the small Inde River. Besides a small settlement, a Gallo-Roman place of worship was also created, although this was abandoned in 260 A.D.
In the year 814 Abbott Benedikt von Aniane, a confidant of Louis the Pious, founded the Benedictine Monastery with the original name of “Monasterium ad Indam” (“the Monastery on the Inde”).
Two major highways crossed the site, one of which led from Cologne via Jülich to Bavai (Northern France, and the other from Aachen to Trier. The latter was of particular importance for the choice of the site of the former mediaeval abbey. As the result of an exchange, the relic skull of St. Pope Cornelius came into the possession of the monastery.
This led to the foundation of the annual Kornelioktav and a change of patronage and name to "Kornelimünster" in the 12th century with the veneration of St Cornelius. The abbey church developed into an important place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and modern times. In the 15th and 16th century the abbey church was enlarged with the increasing numbers of pilgrims. At the beginning of the 18th century the baroque abbey building was erected, and the abbey church - which essentially stemmed from the Gothic era - extended by the octagonal Cornelius Chapel.
After the secularisation of the abbey, the parish - which until then had used the Stephanus Church - took over the monastery church and possibly prevented its demolition as a result.
In this way the houses surrounding Korneliusmarkt and Benediktusplatz, which were mainly built in the 17th and 18th centuries, provide a uniform impression of pre-industrialised building together with the former abbey church.

Author: Editorial baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 05.07.2024

Categories:
Urban Design » Urban Conservation
Architecture » Residential buildings